Background Story

Give the term for a tactic by government officials to win journalistic friends. The officials purportedly explain current policy on condidtion that the source of the information is not identified by name.

Adversarial press

Confidentiality

Give the term for reporters keeping sources of their stories secret. Most states and the federal government allow courts to decide whether the need for journalist to protect sources outweighs the interests of the government in gathering evidence in a criminaal investigation.

attack journalism

feature stories

Give the term for a type of news story that involves a public event not routinely covered by reporters and that requires a reporter to take initiative to select the story and persuade an editor to run it.

scorekeeper

sound-bite

Give the term for a video clip used on nightly newscasts of a presidential contender speaking. The average length of such clips has decreased, making it harder for candidates to get their message across.